The midfielder moved to League Two side Salford on a six-month loan deal in January from Rangers in a bid to clock up regular first team minutes.
Kelly has established himself as a fixture under Ammies boss Bowyer in quick time, starting their last eleven league games on the trot.
Rangers loan manager Kirkwood maintains regular contact with the likes of Kelly and revealed that Salford boss Bowyer is delighted with the way he has been performing on the pitch.
Kirkwood added that Kelly is coming to fore at the League Two outfit in recent outings and feels he has handled his move south of the border well.
Asked whether he thinks Kelly has settled in well at Salford, Kirkwood told Rangers TV: “Yes, he had a great spell here and very good spell at Ross County.
“And I think the profile he can get to enhance himself and the club in terms of future loans, going down there and handling it extremely well, the last few games in particular.
“He is coming to the fore and the manager is absolutely delighted.
“I was down there last weekend, meeting up with managers, seeing the training facilities and met Stephen.
“And it is good for me to go out and have a look and see the kind of environment that Rangers and these players are kind of encountering when they go out on loan.”
Kelly will be determined to further improve his game at Salford and possibly get one step closer to earning a spot in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first team in the future.
